A wireless communication device can encounter uplink (UL) power limited scenarios due to a variety of factors, including various hardware constraints, such as proximity between a device and a human body, as can be measured by a proximity sensor. In this regard, wireless communication devices can be configured with a power class defining a maximum UL transmission power capability of the device. For example, UEs (user equipment devices) categorized as power class 3 UEs on a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network can have a maximum UL transmission power capability of +23 dBm (decibels per milliwatt). However, due to factors, such as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) restrictions, devices are often limited to transmitting at a power lower than the maximum UL transmission power capability when proximate to a human body. Transmission power limitations in this situation can result in a device experiencing an UL power limited condition.
When a wireless communication device experiences an UL power limited condition, the effective coverage area of a serving cell can be reduced. In this regard, a cell can be configured with an effective coverage radius on the basis of a device's power class. Thus in an UL power limited condition, a wireless communication device can be within sufficient range of the serving base station to be able to successfully receive and decode downlink (DL) messages sent to the device, but, due to transmission power limitations, may be unable to successfully send UL messages to the serving base station. In this regard, the UL power limited condition can result in a link imbalance between UL channel quality and DL channel quality in which the UL channel quality is less than the DL channel quality.
Measurement reports triggered on the basis of DL power can be used to trigger a handover decision by a serving base station. However, in the case of a link imbalance in which DL power is within acceptable parameters configured on the basis of a device's power class but the device is experiencing an UL power limited condition limiting the effective coverage area of the cell, the serving base station can be unaware of the device's transmission power limited condition. As such, the serving base station can assume that the wireless communication device remains within the cell coverage area even though the wireless communication device may be outside of the effective coverage range of the cell and unable to successfully transmit UL messages to the serving base station due to the UL power limited condition. Accordingly, the wireless communication device can remain stuck on the serving cell, which can result in data stalls, dropped calls, and/or the like due to the deteriorated UL scenario, thereby degrading user experience.